Latch.



.L F. WHITE. I

LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED IuIIE 29. 1916.

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Patented Ip'. 1917.y

2 SHEETS* I.

J. F. WHITE.

, LATCH.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

' APPLICATION FILED .IUNE 29|' I9I6 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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- naainaa.

'following is a specification,

havre v JOHN-r. WHITE, or cnrcaefo, rumors.

LATCH. l

'spedire-.ation of Letters Patent.

retreated apr. io, reir.

Application med June a9, 191e. -serial Np. 106,687.

4To all whom t may eomem:

Beit known that I, JOHN F. WHITE, a citizen of the United- States,residing at Ghicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Latches, of which thehad therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to an improvement in a lock or fastener designedmore particularly for usein connection with securing the doors ofautomobiles or carriages in their closed position. l

An object of the invention -is to provide primarily a lock which willautomatically fasten the door to be opened. 4 n

A further lobject is'that of' provid-ing a lock of-the characterdesignated-as an antirattler, that is t0 say a lock which will securelyfasten the door closed andwill prevent the door as well as the lock boltfrom vibrating when 1in locked or locking position.

y .I-Ieretofore it has been suggested to provide a pivoted boltmembrhaving a tail piece or projection normallyv positioned to' beengaged'by the stationary part of the door frame uponl the closing ofthej door,

thus rocking the bolt into the hasp or keeper on the frame.

provfde a trigger mechanism or device adapted toengage a shoulder on therockingA bolt when the latter was in its locking position and forretaining the bolt in its locked position.

In suchstructures it -is found, however,

that there was necessitated a certain amountJ of play between thetrigger mechanism and the rocking bolt so that the` door would have moreor less freedom of movement land thereby create an objectionablerattle.l It

is to overcome the objections found to exist in structures heretoforesuggested that the present inventionl is designed.

A further object of the invention isthat of the provision of means foroperating the lock from the outside of the car when the car is providedwi 'h means with a spring member having 'the' requisite strength toforcibly hold theroek- 'ing boit reference being door closedbut whichcan uponl slight pressure be released to perm-it the j It has also beensuggested-heretofore to lng the wedgmg bolt lock in, addition l aclosed-in top portionl or a removable limousine top.

in close contact with the wall' of the hasp ,memben of the door frame,thereby permitting the use of a very light spring for the rocking bolt.

A still further object of the invention is that of providinga lockingmechanism for automobile doors having a concealed or protected actuatingor releasing member, thus overcoming the objections existing in. thepresent art to rejecting handles or heads.

In the drawing there is shown a construction involving the inventionpresently to be described and certain modifications of operatinghandles, but itis to be understood that the hereinafter referred towedging member, struction can be modilied and changed without departingfrom the nature and principle of the invention. l

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of the side of an automobile.;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through an automobile doorshowingthe chambered `part thereof and the lock mechanism in itsoperative position; l

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 2 showing thefront'plate in dotted lines; f

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the lock;v 5 is a section-through' the line5-5 of. ig. 3, but showing the keeper on the door frame;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 illustrateect on the rocking bolt;Fig. 7 is a detail section of anoutside means operating thetriggerImechanism or to the regular inside thumb piece; l

Fig. 8 is an elevation of an inside portion ofthe door' showing anoutside operating mechanism employed when a detachable limousine part isadded to the machine, and, Fig. 9 is a section through the body and doorof the construction illustrated in Fig. 8.

The type of lock or securing device presently to'be described is oneoted` latch or bolt member is provided with a tail-piece arrangedl to.operate the bolt from open to closed position when the bolt is closed.In the drawing, especially in Fig. 6, there is shown such a type of lockwherein B represents the or other vehicle, (as shown'in elevation Fig.l), and A represents the body or frame of the car. The door is mortisedout, as shown at b,`fthe mortise being closed by the lock as well asvarious details of con-l wherein a pivi door of an automobile v d* whenthe bolt site side'bas 'of the to be described. The lockln Y bolt isdesigned to move through the bolt- .lugs

.the b to receive the locking bolt, presently to be described. crepresents an extension of the keeper plate C and through .the edgeofthe keeper plate and extension thereis formed an opemng c2 throughwhich the tail-piece of the bolt is adapted to pass. Mounted on the plate C, andsecurely secured by suitable mortised projections -throughthe keeper plate C is a metallic'lock frame C3, conveniently of U-shapedformation and .projected into the Inortise'of the door. In the oppoframeC3 there is p1voted the locking bolt D through the pivot d, of the pivotwith a tail-piece d operating through the opening c2 of the keeper plateof the lock. The bolt D is'provided with a curved facin d2 which isformed on an arc,

the center of which is the pivot d. The locking portion or fasteningpart with a straightlocking face is andl ositioned substantiallyopposite to said loc -ng face is a straight shouldered part, d..-Intermediate the shouldered part and the locking face there is formeda, notch d5 in the edge of ,the bolt D, and this notch is formed ofsubstantially' V-shap'e for purposes presently gpart of the opening ofthe keeper plate C into the position shown in full lines in Fig. bars ofthe'frame or housing Cs are each formed withopenings or guideways C4,the rear walls of which are inclined or obliquely fashionedwith'relation to the front walls, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Theopen- C4 are positioned with relation to the bolt D so that the straightshouldered part is projected outward will extend over the penings orbeyond `the plane of the straight edges thereof. To secure the bolt inits operative position, and also to'insure of its maintenance of thebolt in its retracted osition as well as to provide means for loc 'ng f(plt ina progressive manner, it has been oun trigger lever E, the samecomprising an en 'piece e having its rear face inclined to correspondwiththe inclination of the rear walls of the opening C4 of the frame C".The lever E is pivoted intermediate its ends, as at e',l toa lug e2,bent inwardly from the plate C. The upper end of the rockin bar carriesa thumb piece E protecting thimble F, secured to the inner face of thedoor. The ,rocking bar is conveniently positioned in a groove E2 eut inthet` doorway, the lower end leading into the lock mortise of the door.With a view of positionng the operating `thumb piece somewhat back fromthe edge of the door, the bar E is D is formed 6. The Side rear of theupper leg inasmuch as the recess full retraction and a' convenient toemploy an operatinv surrounded y a bent or offset, as shown in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings, although this particular arrangement is notessential.

On the edge of the frame A, representing the door jamb, there is formedthe recess for thelocking portion of the bolt, as at a. The

rear

` the bolt, as shown in Fig. 5 when the door is closed.

With the p parts' of the lock or bolt retracted to a position shown indotted lines,

- Figf, the door upon being closed carries the the locking bolt beingprovided on one side i the straight shouldered part d4 of the lock bolt,as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.A This shoulder d4 is eccentric to the pivotof the bolt, and the pressure of the trigger end of the lever normallytends to force the bolt outward owing to the engaging inclined surfacesabove referred to. The pressure or force creating this action isconveniently attained through the medium of a coiled spring .G mountedin the door frame and engaging over a suitable projection at the of thetripping lever E, as shown 1n Fig. 2. The strength of the spring G issuilicient to carry the lower end of the tripping lever well inward andas soon as the shoulder d* is projected over or beyond the plane of thefront wall of the recesses C4 there is an engagement thereof by thelower ende of the tripping lever, and C" is of suflicient length topermit a continued movement of the end e as well as an inclined movementof the lockingpart D the bolt will be forced forward until it meets-witha rm a/nd unyielding resistance, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Thetongue A of the jamb plate is conveniently curved so that the end of theyond the'` curved center of the part A',

thereby effecting an interlock between the i point of the bolt and thecrown of the part A. In other words a'substantially dovetail recess isformed between the strai ht face of the locking bolt and the exten edpart ofthe plate c. As above stated, this eifect is secured through themovement of the part e of the trip lever which is held in engagementwith the inclined edge wall of the groove C4.

In positioning the lever E it is conveniently set so that while itslower end has an outward movement it is by virtue of the Lampes part e2carried slightly toviewed from Figs. 5

ring of l'the 'Y and 6, and thereby caused tofollow the inclination oflheedge of the slot C4. When the bolt D is to be thrown back it is onlynecessary to press on the thumb piece E', which, owing to the longleverage, requires but slight pressure to compress the spring G, thuscarrying the securing end e of the lever out of range of the bolt. rlFhedoor is then thrown open and by its movement rocks the bolt back intothe housing by which time pressure is removed from the thumb piece F,allowing the spring G to force the end e of the trip lever inward and toengage the right hand bottom wall of the notch d5 of the bolt. This willtend to impart to the bolt a final movement carrying, through the,instrumentality of the single spring G, the extreme end oftthe .lockingpart D of the bolt into the housing and to there retain it againstaccidental outward movement. 1t vwill beseen that the device, .as vabovedescribed, is one wherein a single spring is needed and can be readilyreplaced should it become broken, andV so without disassembling theparts of the lock.

In some instances vit may be found convenient to employ a light spring,as H, for carrying the bolt full back into the housing. Such a spring isshown in Figs. 3 and 5 and takes -the form. of a coiled spring of U-shaped formation, having its ends pivoted in the tail of the bolt, whileits innermost end is properly secured in the tang or overhanging part ofthe U-,shaped lock supporting part. A spring,`however, is not neededwhen the bolt isprovided with the trip engaging notch portion whichserves the purposes of finally setting and holding the bolt in openposition.

1t is now well known that the ordinary touring body of `an automobile isin many cases built to receive a limousine top, and inasmuch as thethumb piece E is located on the inside ofthe door it is desirable tohave some means for enabling the operation of the trip arm or lever Efrom the outside.

A `convenient form is shown in Fig. 7 wherein a handle part 1 isprovided with a stem i passing through Ithe front plate of the doorthrough the spring G, and is pivotally connected to the upper end of thelever E. By pulling outward on the part 1, the` lever E is locked.Should it be desired to provide a` turning handle, as distinguished froman outwardly lmoving handle, .and to have the turning handle on theremovable partofthe frame, provide a handle part J, as shown in Fig. 9,in the removable part X of the body. of the car, and to provide anextension j passing through the part X and curved to form a finger partJ. A guide plate K is formed on the inside of the door,

that spring is so located that it it is only necessaryto "1 lili curvedand inclined to receive the nger part J as the latter is moved in an arcof a circle through thefhandle J. rlhe finger J is thereby carried overand onto the finger piece E', and by virtue of a sprin L located in arecess in the part X abuttmg a shoulder ,Z on the stem j, the part J ismoved with suicient `force onto the linger piece so as to trip thelever. In Fig. 9 the partsare shown in the position where the spring Lis under comrelssion, and as soon as the point or finger g engagesthe.part E the lever E will be operated. Other arrangements may obviously beprovided for enabling the user to operate the release catch from theoutside.,

There are many advantages to be derived from the construction abovedescribed, among which may extreme simplicity, parts a're employed, pwhich is operable without the usual springs located in or adjacent tothe locking members. The lock is sol formed that a perfect anti-rattleris provided and also when the parts are fully set, as shown in dottedlines Fig. 6 of the drawings, there is a union formed between the doorand the jamb which prevents or at least resists in a measure anyobjectionable relative' movement between the two parts owing to theoverhang or interlock. 1t will further be noted that any slightvariations or vibrating tendencies of the parts are resisted by thewedging action of the interengaging partsmof the mechanism. 1t will alsobe noted that by the inclined movement of the trip or part e a wedgingaction is produced which at all a minimum number of the bolt and thehasp. While 1 am aware that it is old to form rocking locking bolts withtail pieces designed to operate the bolt into a closed position and alsoto provide suitable latch mechanism for securing the bolt in its lockedposition,'1 am not aware that heretofore it had ever been suggested toprovide a means for adding progressively a securing device to thelocking bolt with a view of properly holding the same in its closednon-rattling position. 1 am also not aware of it having heretofore beensuggested to provide a single spring member for operating the bolt lockor catch which also addsthe final or full retracting movement to thebolt. 1 therefore wish it understood that the terms employed in theappended claims are not to be construed as limiting the invention to theexact construction shown and described.

Having thus described the invention what is new and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is: i

. 1. 1n alock-for vehicle doors and the like, the pombination with apivoted locking bolt, of a fixed bearing member, and a movable may existbetween and a lock is provided be mentioned that of times tends to takeup any lost motion that member adapted to be moved toward the boltthrough its engagement with the said ed member and be wedged between thesaid fixed member and the bolt to lock the bolt inany locking position.

2., In a lock for vehicle doors and the like, the combination with acarrying part, of a pivoted locking bolt thereon, and means for lockingthe bolt against backward movement comprising a surface inclined towardthe bolt, and a movable member interposed between said surface and thebolt'.

3. In a lock for vehicle doors and the like, the combination with aframe, of a rocking bolt pivoted therein2 and means for locking the boltin any locking position that it mayassume, comprising a member movableltoward the bolt and a fixed member with which said movable memberengages for positively causing the movable member to advance toward thebolt and to retain the bolt in its forward locking position.

4. In a door lock the combination with a frame, of a rocking bolttherein, and a trip member for securing the bolt in locked posi-d tion,a spring for operating the trip in one direction, and a wedg'ing surfacefor moving the trip toward the bolt.

5. In a door lock the combination with a frame and a rocking bolttherein, of means for locking the bolt in its extreme locking A positionand means coperatingwith said first mentioned means for causing the boltto move inward when in an unlocked posit1on. l

l 6. In a door lock the combination with a frame member, of a rockingbolt therein, a hasp member having-a curved surface with which thelocking face of the bolt engages, and spring actuated locking means forcausing the end of the locking face of the bolt to project inward beyondthe crown of the l y curved part of the hasp member.

In a door lock the combination with a frame member, of a rocking bolttherein, a hasp member having. a curved surface with which the loc andspring actuated means for causing the g face of the'bolt engages,

end `of the locking face of the bolt to pro Ject inward beyond the crownof the curved part of the hasp member 'and for locking the same in suchposition.

8. In a door lock the' combination with a door having a mortise therein,of a lock frame secured in the mortise, a rocking bolt secured intheframe, a trip lever for securing the bolt in locked position, aspring engaging'the trip lever, a thumb piece for operating the leverlocated on the inner face .of the door, and a guard for the thumb piece.

9. In a door lock the combination with a lock frame having side bars, ofan inclined part, a locking bolt pivoted in the frame, and a springactuated trip for locking the bolt having one face thereof arranged toengage the said inclined part.

l0. In a door lock the combination with a lock frame having a groovedside bar, one

forward edge of the lock, a rocking bolt pivoted in the frame, and aspring actuated catch lever having its end part arranged to engage saidinclined portion and to be forced into holding engagement with the saidlocking bolt, substantially as described.

11. Ina door lock, a rotatably mounted bolt adapted to be operatedmanually for locking and unlocking movements, and a spring actuated tripmember for locking the bolt in locked position and an inclined surfacefor causing the trip to engage the bolt.

12. A lock including a rotatably mounted bolt member operable manuallyfor locking and unlocking, means for holding the bolt in locked positioncomprising an element for causing the said means to positively advance'signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

Y JOHN F. AWHITE. Witnessesz.

A. B. FALCH,

JAMES E. GALLAenzaR.

